


From A Certain Child's Point of View:  Redemption

by Lailuva



Series: From The Child's Point of View [9]
Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Alternate POV, Baby Yoda POV, Baby Yoda continues to have a potty mouth, Baby Yoda is going to do it himself if Dad won't at this point, Baby Yoda wants Dad to actually take care of himself, Canon-Typical Violence, Child Abuse, DO NOT HIT THE BABY, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-18
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:27:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25359928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lailuva/pseuds/Lailuva
Summary: Everyone wants the asset, including enemies more dangerous than he and his dad have ever faced before.  But no matter what, he is going to keep the people he loves safe.
Relationships: Baby Yoda & The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV)
Series: From The Child's Point of View [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1592260
Comments: 251
Kudos: 414





	1. The Nurse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He's all alone. Or is he?

He’s never gone as fast as he is right now on the speederbike, but it’s not fun. It’s only scary, because the White Armors have him.

One of them stuffed him in a bag and he’s still so wrapped up in his blanket he can’t move his arms or legs. His ears all are bent under the top of the bag and they hurt. He wants to scream or cry but it’s stuck inside him, and even if he did, the White Armors would probably hit him. They’re bigger and stronger than him. They can do whatever they want to him.

And no one is going to come help him this time. Kuiil is Gone; the White Armors shot him and killed him and his nice blurrg too. Dad went away with no blaster and with binders on his hands, and Greef and Cara went with him. Dad told him to leave, but the White Armors got him before he and Kuiil could get on the ship.

Everything is bad now. He just wants Dad to come get him and shoot the White Armors. But Dad can’t help him now. There’s no one left to help him. He is all alone.

The speederbikes whine even louder, hurting his ears, but then they stop. “Speederbikes have arrived at the checkpoint with the asset. Awaiting confirmation.”

Asset again! He hates that word!  _ I’m not a fucking asset! _ he tells the White Armor, and tries to lift the bag off him.

He doesn’t even see the hit coming until it smacks him in the face. It  _ hurts _ and he cries. “Knock it off,” says the White Armor.

He swallows his cries and blinks the wet out of his eyes. He doesn’t want to be hit again. Yarull would hit him and if he cried Yarull would hit him again. He’d forgotten how much it  _ hurts. _ He wants Dad. Dad never hit him.

The White Armors keep talking and he tries to hide deeper in the bag. It’s dark and scary like the pod, but at least in the pod it was harder to hit him and sometimes Yarull would just bang the pod instead.

There’s only a thin line of not-bag he can see. It looks kind of familiar out there. He peeks out, and he can see a big town in all the grey rocks. In front of it is a big arch. It takes him a moment but then he remembers - that’s the arch he and Dad walked under when they first came here! It’s the same place! And if he’s right and Dad came here to kill Glasses, White Hair, and the White Armors, that means Dad and Cara and Greef should be somewhere in that town! He has to get out. He has to find them!

He squirms. He has to get his arms out. He’s small, and he can’t squeeze necks because Dad said no, but he can push and he has claws; if his claws can catch frogs, he can use them on people too.

He’s gotten one arm out and he almost gets the other arm out when he gets hit again, so hard he can see stars even though it’s daytime and his head hurts even worse. “I said, shut up,” says the White Armor.

He hides in the bag again. What was he thinking? He’s too small, and he’s not brave enough. He doesn’t want to be hit. Dad would never let the White Armors hit him, but Dad isn’t here. It’s like he’s back with Yarull again, when no one was nice to him or told him jate and he had to stay hidden and shut up until someone wanted to look at him. He presses his face into the bag. What if he never sees Dad again? Dad didn’t even tell him good-bye… 

There’s blaster noise and he jumps, but swallows his cries. He doesn’t want to be hit again. He doesn’t want to be hit at all and he doesn’t want to be near blasters! The blaster sounds again and again. He manages to get his other hand out and covers his ears, but he can still hear the blaster sounds. Are they going to shoot him? They shot Kuiil. What if they try and shoot him?! Dad isn’t here to stop them!

The blaster noise stops and the White Armors start talking instead. He still hides in the bag and stays quiet. They might change their mind and shoot him. Now he understands why Dad wouldn’t let him near blasters or take him anywhere there are blasters. He will never ever try to get in the blaster cabinet or touch Dad’s rifle again.

He would never do anything bad again if it meant Dad would come and get him right now.

The bag moves and he freezes, bracing himself for another hit, but he just feels the bag set down. He peeks out and can see one of the White Armors sitting on his speederbike. What are they waiting for?

They’re still talking but he doesn’t listen. He has to figure out how to get out of this bag and find Dad. He has to be brave, even if he gets hit. If he can find Dad, those White Armors won’t be able to hit him anymore because Dad will make them Gone. He has to escape! But how?

“Shouldn’t we check if it’s still alive? You hit it pretty hard,” says one of the White Armors.

“You just wanna see it!” says the one by his bag.

“Well, we should check and see if it’s hurt!” says the other one.

They don’t care if he’s hurt. They just want to stare at him and laugh at him like Yarull’s friends. Yarull used to get him out of the pod sometimes and make him float rocks for Yarull's friends, or run around while everyone stuck their feet out in front of him and laughed when he fell, and if he cried about it or wouldn’t do it they would hit him. He can sense it. They aren’t like Dad. He doesn’t know what an asset is, but he knows how people who call him that will treat him, and Dad never treated him like that.

“Okay, okay, look! Here you go!” Suddenly the bag is opened and the two White Armors are standing right over him.

“See? Take a peek,” says one. Yarull said that exact same thing to one of his friends once. He remembers being scared of them and hiding under his blanket.

But he’s not hiding this time. Even when Dad feels scared he never shows it, and this time he will be brave like Dad.  _ Fucking shabuir! _ he tells the White Armors, and shows them his teeth like the blurrgs.

“Everything’s fine,” says the first White Armor as the two of them peer closer.

“What is that?” asks the second, waving his finger in his face.  _ Stop! _ he tells him, but the White Armor doesn’t listen and pokes him in the head. They keep talking  _ about _ him. No one has talked  _ to _ him in forever and he’s sick of it! That fucking finger is still in his face.  _ Stop! _ he says again, and when the White Armor doesn’t listen, he bites as hard as he can.

The White Armor yells and jumps away, but he still watches and this time he sees the punch coming. It hits him in the stomach this time and it  _ hurts _ and he cries but he is brave. They can hit him but he doesn’t have to sit and do nothing. He may be small but he’s not stuck in a pod anymore and if they’re going to hit him, he’s going to be like Dad and fight back!

“Serves you right,” says the first White Armor.

He doesn’t want to agree with a White Armor, but he adds,  _ Yes it does. _

Before he can try and bite the other White Armor, he hears a metallic  _ clank clank. _ “Stop that,” says a new voice.

Wait, he knows that voice. It’s Kuiil's Droid. It’s IG-11.

He can’t see because the White Armor closes the bag. But he knows that voice and when the White Armor says “Identify yourself!” he hears “I am IG-11. I am this child’s nurse droid and require that you remand him to me immediately.”

He shoves the lid of the bag aside and peeks out. It  _ is _ IG-11! He’s not alone after all!

The White Armors don’t think IG-11 is scary and laugh at him. “I thought it was a hunter. Aren’t IGs usually hunters?”

“Yeah, well, evidently this one’s a nurse,” says the other.

IG-11 walks up. Where is his blaster? How is he going to shoot the White Armors? Or is he going to hit them instead?

“I’m sorry, nurse, but you’re gonna have to get out of here,” says one of the White Armors. He hears a blaster noise.

“Are you refusing my request?” asks IG-11.

“No,” says the White Armor, “I’m telling you to get out of here.”

_ Bite them, IG-11! _ he says. _ They don’t like that! _

But IG-11 doesn’t bite them. IG-11 grabs White Armor’s hand holding the blaster and twists it all around with a loud snapping noise, and then throws him to the ground! The other White Armor tries to shoot, but IG-11 spins around, grabs the White Armor’s helmet, and smashes him into his speederbike until it breaks. Now they are both Gone.

IG-11 walks over to the speederbike where he is and picks him up, sitting down and setting him in front before pressing a button on the speederbike. The speederbike starts making its whining noise. He looks up.  _ IG-11, Dad is in trouble! What are we going to do? _

“That was unpleasant. I’m sorry you had to see that,” says IG-11.

_ It’s fine, _ he says.

They zoom forward very very fast, and now that he’s in front and can see it’s much better. They are heading for the town with the arch. They are going to find Dad!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unpopular opinion confession: I think the stormtrooper conversation is, at best, mildly funny but way too long and overdrawn. We needed a breather but this undercuts the tension too much. Also the comments about Gideon killing people undermine him as a cold, calculating villain and seem to contrast with his character otherwise, and are unnecessary and annoying. So that's why the majority of it isn't transcribed. :P Also, Baby Yoda has bigger things on his mind right now. If he's not watching him, who's gonna take care of Dad?! Dad always gets into trouble when he isn't around to keep Dad out of it!!
> 
> I'm so excited to be finally hitting the final episode of Season 1 and I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Next time: Now that he's got reinforcements, he needs to rescue Dad and his friends! But there may be more ahead than he anticipated...


	2. The Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He's brought reinforcements to help his Dad and their friends. But it may not be enough...

Riding the speederbike with IG-11 is much better than with the White Armors. Now he is in front and can see, and feel the wind in his face. It makes his ears flap flap! He doesn’t even mind the way it makes his eyes blink.

Even better is when the cylinder buzzes and he hears Dad’s voice. “Come in, Kuiil. Kuiil? Nothing.”

Dad is alive! He isn’t Gone!  _ DAD! _ he yells as loud as he can at the cylinder. _ Dad, I’m coming! I’m bringing reinforcements! _

“Kuiil has been terminated,” says IG-11.

“What did you do?” says Dad, and he sounds angry.

“I am fulfilling my base function,” says IG-11 calmly.

“Which is?!” says Dad.

“To nurse and protect,” says IG-11, and he makes the speederbike go faster.

He can’t hear if Dad answers. _ It’s okay, Dad! _ he yells at the cylinder. _ IG-11 is nice and he’s really good at fighting White Armors! He smashed one into the speederbike really hard! _

They are getting close to the arch. He can see White Armors ahead, and when they see IG-11, they stand up and point their blasters. They start to shoot, but IG-11 shoots them first with the speederbike. They all fall down and are Gone. He and IG-11 zoom right past them.

There are lots more White Armors ahead, but IG-11 pulls out a blaster in each hand and starts shooting. He’s fast, even faster than Dad! The White Armors don’t even have time to shoot back as the speederbike zooms through the roads. One, two, three, four - more than he can count are Gone! Why didn’t Dad want him to come along? This is fun!

The White Armors are all surprised and scared by IG-11. They run and jump out of the way and one even falls down, making him laugh. None of them can hide from IG-11, though. He shoots them all.

They keep going, faster and faster. This is as much fun as when he got to go with Dad to chase the big building with all the brown robe people! He sees one of them, but IG-11 only shoots the two White Armors and leaves the brown robe person alone. IG-11 shoots with the speederbike again, hitting the walls and making them explode into clouds of dust. He giggles as he feels the air blow into his face.

They turn a corner and ahead are lots and lots of White Armors, and even Black Armors too. He isn’t scared, though. He has IG-11 and even better, he can sense that Dad and Cara and Greef are somewhere nearby. They’re all right! They’re alive!

_ Dad! _ he shouts as loud as he can, but even he can’t hear himself over the booms IG-11 makes and the speederbike whine and the blaster-sounds. But Dad is close. He is going to find Dad! If he’s with Dad, nothing bad can happen anymore.

The White Armors all crouch down with their blasters and start to fire. IG-11 suddenly grabs him and turns around. Hey! He can’t see! But he can still hear IG-11 shooting, and he can see again when IG-11jumps right off the speederbike and into the White and Black Armors! They all fall down as IG-11 shoots them, and when he looks ahead the speederbike crashes into lots of White Armors and knocks them down before exploding into a huge boom!

_ Yay, IG-11! _ he shouts. _ Jate! Jate! _

IG-11 doesn’t stop. He shoots any White Armor he can see, spinning so fast it makes him dizzy. He holds on tight to the bag, shouting whenever he sees a White Armor still standing. There are lots and lots but IG-11 is too fast for any of the White Armors to get them. IG-11 always shoots them first, and always turns so none of them can shoot him.

There’s lots more blaster fire all of a sudden, but it’s coming from inside one of the buildings and it’s hitting the White Armors. He looks over but can’t see who’s shooting, because they’re inside. But then the door opens and out comes Dad!

_ Dad! Dad! _ he shouts, even though he knows it’s too loud for anyone to hear him. IG-11 keeps turning but he keeps his eyes on Dad no matter what. Dad has his blaster again and no more binders on his hands and now he can fight. Dad shoots a White Armor and kicks another one. A Black Armor hits Dad and tries to knock him down but Dad shoots him too. Another Black Armor does knock Dad down.  _ Dad! _ he yells, and tries to reach out and push the Black Armor away, but before he can Dad kicks the Black Armor and Greef shoots the Black Armor, and Dad can get back up.

There’s blaster fire everywhere and it’s hard to see, but he spots a White Armor trying to shoot Greef in the back.  _ Stop it! _ he says, and this time he reaches out and pushes as hard as he can. The White Armor falls to the ground. He did it!

IG-11 keeps turning and twisting, making it hard for him to see and concentrate. He wants to help Dad and his friends. He wants to push more White Armors down, but IG-11 moves too fast. By the time he sees one he’s already been turned away. He won’t stop trying, though. He has to help Dad!

IG-11 suddenly shakes as blaster fire hits him. IG-11 wraps his arms around the bag, protecting him, and when he looks back he sees there are lots of White Armors shooting at them. He wants to try and push them, but there’s too many and he’s already starting to feel a little heavy and tired and he can’t fall asleep, not now. IG-11 falls down, but there are too many White Armors shooting him and he can’t get back up!  _ Dad, help! _ he yells.

Dad sees that they are in trouble and hurries over to the biggest blaster he’s ever seen. It looks very heavy, but Dad picks it up and points it at the White Armors. The blaster shoots them so hard they flip over in the air before they fall down!  _ Go, Dad, go! _ he cheers.

IG-11 gets back up and starts shooting again, moving closer to Greef. More blaster fire comes from inside the building, and when he reaches out he senses Cara inside. But then his sense with no name suddenly screams that Cara is in trouble.  _ Dad! _ he shouts, but it’s too late and there is a huge explosion. The door explodes and he sees Black Armors start to go inside.

He wants to shout for Dad to help Cara again, but his sense with no name tells him to look the other direction. There is a man walking out, dressed all in black with a long black cape and black armor. The man isn’t scared of the blaster fire or Dad or anything; he is calm. The man doesn’t have a black sword but he knows this is the man from his dream. This is the Bad Man.

He doesn’t like the Bad Man. He’s scary. He ducks down in his bag. He wants to tell Dad to shoot the Bad Man, but his voice has gone away.

The Bad Man keeps walking, but then stops and raises his blaster. He’s pointing it at Dad! He finds his voice and shouts  _ Dad! _ But he’s too late, and the Bad Man shoots Dad right in the head. The laser almost knocks him over but just pings off of Dad’s helmet. The Bad Man can’t shoot Dad when Dad has his armor.  _ Get him, Dad! _ he shouts. He doesn’t know who this Bad Man is, but he doesn’t want to find out.

Dad gets up and starts to turn the big blaster at the Bad Man. Dad is going to get him! Dad is going to make him Gone!

But the Bad Man shoots his blaster at a box on the ground, and suddenly there is a huge explosion.

It’s so bright but he can’t close his eyes. All he can see is his Dad, flying through the air like when the big scary monster was attacking him, then slamming into the ground and not moving. Dad doesn’t move at all.

_ Dad! _ he screams as loud as he can, but Dad doesn’t answer and doesn’t get up.

IG-11 turns to shoot at more White Armors and now he can’t see Dad.  _ No! No, IG-11, turn around! _ he yells as loud as he can, but IG-11 doesn’t listen. He twists around to see Dad. Dad still isn’t moving, and he is very fuzzy-sleepy now. The White Armors will get him if he can’t get up!  _ Dad, wake up! _ he shouts. Dad doesn’t move at all.

Someone has to help Dad!  _ IG-11, get Dad! _ he says, but IG-11 doesn’t listen, even when he pulls on the bag and tries to pat IG-11’s shoulders. IG-11 just keeps heading for the door where Greef is.  _ Someone has to get my Dad! _ he cries at them, but they don’t listen. He tries to get out of the bag but he can’t; he just slides back down. Someone has to help his Dad!

Cara runs out, and before he can try to tell her to get Dad, she runs right over to Dad and picks him up. She is strong enough to carry him back to the building. _ Hurry, Cara! _ he says; there is more and more blaster fire. IG-11 is still shooting but he doesn’t care about the White Armors anymore. Cara takes Dad inside, then Greef goes inside, and finally IG-11 follows and closes the door. He watches Cara carry Dad over to a knocked-over chair on the floor. “Stay with me, buddy,” she says. “We’re gonna get you out of here.”

“This is our only path out,” says Greef, pointing to a grate. “Can you clear it?”

He doesn’t listen to IG-11’s answer. He doesn’t care about the grate.  _ Dad! _ he cries, but Dad doesn’t answer. Cara put Dad on the chair, but he isn’t moving or getting up and he still feels all fuzzy and hurting.

IG-11 puts the bag down. He doesn’t know or care what IG-11 and Greef are talking about. Finally he can try and get out of this stupid bag. He squirms and squirms and but only when he tips the bag over can he finally crawl out. He gets to his feet and hurries over to Dad as fast as he can.

“You just got your bell rung. You’ll be fine,” says Cara as he walks over.

“Leave me,” says Dad, and Cara looks down at something on her hand, and suddenly her feelings change and she feels very bad.

He doesn’t understand. Dad doesn’t look hurt. Dad doesn’t even have a cut, and he doesn’t feel as fuzzy-sleepy anymore.  _ Get up, Dad, _ he says. He pats Dad’s boot.  _ Dad, get up. _

“I’m gonna need to take this thing off,” says Cara, but Dad says no and stops her. No one can take off Dad’s helmet. Doesn’t Cara know that?

“You leave me,” says Dad. “You make sure the child is safe.”

Does Dad not know he’s here? Cara doesn’t have to leave to keep him safe.  _ Dad, Dad, _ he says, tugging on Dad’s boot.  _ Dad, get up. _ Dad is fine now, isn’t he? Dad isn’t so fuzzy anymore. Dad was fuzzy when the big scary monster knocked him around but then he was fine. There’s nothing in the whole galaxy that can beat his Dad. Why won’t he get up?

“Here.” Dad pulls something out from under his cloak, and he sees a flash of shiny silver as Dad hands whatever it is to Cara. “When you get to the Mandalorian covert, you show them that. You tell them it’s from Din Djarin. You tell them the foundling was in my protection, and they’ll help you.”

Foundling? He’s pretty sure Dad means him. And a Mandalorian is what Dad is. What kind of place is a covert, though? Is it like a house? _ Dad, you have to get up, _ he says. There is a bad feeling growing inside him, but he doesn’t want to listen to his sense with no name right now. _ Dad, get up! _

Cara doesn’t like what Dad is saying. “We can make it!”

He doesn’t like this. He wants Dad to get up.  _ Dad! _ he cries, pulling on Dad’s boot.  _ Come on, Dad, let’s go! Get up! _

Cara agrees with him. “Come on!” she tells Dad, trying to pull him to his feet. “Let’s go!”

“I’m not gonna make it and you know it,” says Dad.

He feels so cold and scared inside. Dad has to come with them! He wants to tell Dad to  _ get up _ and  _ let’s go _ and  _ you have to come with us _ but anything he says is lost as hot loud fire blasts into the room. The White Armors found them!

The fire roars and then stops, but stays, burning part of the cantina. They have to go! He looks and IG-11 and Greef are still by the grate, trying to make a hole. Even though there’s fire, Dad doesn’t get up. He doesn’t even move away from the fire; Cara has to lean over him and protect him.

He knows then that Dad can’t move. Dad is hurting; even if he can’t see blood, he understands now that Dad is hurt. He has to fix Dad! If Dad can’t move, Dad can’t tell him no like he usually does.

“You protect the child,” Dad tells Cara. “I can hold them back long enough for you to escape. Let me have a warrior’s death.”

_ No, Dad! _ he cries. “I won’t leave you,” says Cara.

“This is the way,” says Dad.

He won’t let Dad be Gone! He won’t! He can fix Dad and stop him from hurting, just like he did for Greef. But when he reaches out to try and fix whatever is hurting Dad, another burst of fire comes into the room. He flinches away from it; it’s too hot! The humans don’t like it even more; Greef hides behind a tipped-over table and Cara leans over Dad, keeping him safe from the fire.

A White Armor steps inside, a scary one with red stripes on the white armor and a huge black blaster with fire flickering on the end. The White Armor raises the blaster. He is going to shoot fire at all of them and make them all Gone.

The fire is too hot for Cara and Greef. They can’t fight this White Armor. IG-11 is trying to make a hole in the wall. Dad can’t move. There is no one to stop the White Armor from killing them all.

No one but him.

He’s supposed to fix Dad but as soon as he sees the bright fire rush towards him he knows what he has to do. All the scary feelings go quiet inside and he raises his hands. It’s just like the monster back on the planet where Dad found him. He wanted the monster to stop and he made it stop so it couldn’t hurt Dad. He can make the fire stop too.

_ Stop, _ he tells it, and the fire stops.

The fire gets big and bigger, trying to go past him.  _ Stop! _ he tells it, but his arms start to hurt and the fire doesn’t want to listen. There is more and more fire - the White Armor is sending more fire at him and his Dad and his friends. He can’t let them be hurt. He  _ won’t _ let them be hurt!

He pushes the fire back, and it rushes back at the White Armor who made it. Fire explodes everywhere, and he can just barely see the White Armor be pushed away too.

There is still lots of fire, but when he looks back no one is hurt and no one is Gone. Cara and Greef and IG-11 and Dad are all safe. He did it. Now all he has to do is fix Dad.

But when he tries to walk his legs won’t go and flop out under him, and his eyes are so heavy and don’t want to stay open.  _ Dad, _ he says. Maybe someone will carry him to Dad? He has to fix Dad but he’s so tired now. He wants to sleep but after he fixes Dad. He has to fix Dad… he has to… 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Baby's First Shootout and Baby's First Kill all in one day. Too bad Din didn't bring his camera.
> 
> Next time: Making sure Dad's okay, and meeting a new friend of Dad's.
> 
> FYI updates might get slower in the future. Due to life stress my writing pace has slowed to a crawl. (My school was going to reopen despite surging cases in my area, decided last minute we wouldn't when almost all the teachers were like "hell no" and they realized they might not have enough staff (afaik not having all our PPE was not a factor), and now we will be doing virtual learning.) I s2g one more straw is gonna do in this camel's back. Thank you for understanding! Stay safe, y'all.


	3. The Signet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meeting an unexpected yet important ally.

It’s dark and quiet now. No fire, just rough cloth pressing against his cheek and ears. Do the White Armors have him again? No, IG-11 killed them, and shot lots more of them in the town, and then they got trapped in that building with the fire, and then -

It all rushes back.  _ Dad! _ he shouts as loud as he can, popping his head out of the bag.

“Shh!” says Greef.

He blinks, his eyes adjusting to the dim light. Greef is here with a light in his hands. He looks up and Cara is holding the bag. He can’t see anyone else. He tries with his sense with no name, and he can’t sense anyone else either.

Where’s Dad?

He tries to sense again but Dad isn’t here. The last time he saw Dad, Dad was still in the room with the fire, telling Cara to leave him and  _ let me have a warrior’s death. _ He feels so cold he starts shaking and his eyes get all wet. No! Cara wouldn’t have left Dad, they’re friends! But Cara is carrying him, not Dad. Which means… 

He has to go back. He has to fix Dad right now.  _ Dad! _ he screams, trying to claw his way out of the bag, but he can’t push himself all the way out and keeps slipping back down. He tries to grab onto Cara’s shoulder to haul himself out. _ Dad! DAD! _

“Quiet!” hisses Greef. “They’ll hear us!”

He doesn’t care.  _ DAD! _

“Hey, shh, shh,” says Cara, tipping him back into the bag. He shrieks -  _ Let me out! _ \- but when he looks up at her face, Cara’s eyes are all shiny and she tries to rock the bag a little. “Shh,” she says.

_ I want Dad, _ he pleads, even though he knows she can’t understand.

“Hey. Here.” Cara pulls out something and silver glints in Greef’s light. Cara puts it in his hands and he feels her set a cord around his neck. “You should have this.”

He looks down. The pendant looks like a monster-face in his hands, but it’s not so scary. It’s shiny silver metal and he likes it. He reaches out to sense it, and he can sense something almost-like-Dad. Dad has touched this, and kept it close. This is what Dad gave to Cara. It’s Dad's, and it remembers him.

He looks up and Cara is watching him. She gives him a little smile, but she still feels sad. “No matter what, you can always remember,” she says.

He doesn’t understand, and when he reaches out to her, all he senses is a brief glimpse of a blue-green planet that disappears in fire. Cara misses someone too, like he misses Dad? He isn’t sure and he still doesn’t understand, but he feels a little better when he holds the silver pendant in his hands. He tastes it, and it even tastes a bit like his ball.

They walk a while longer, and he looks out. They are still in the dark. He hides the necklace in his coat to make sure no one will take it before he pokes his head out.  _ Where are we going? _

No one answers, and there’s a loud noise behind them. Cara and Greef spin around to see what it is.

There’s a light, and footsteps. Then around the corner comes IG-11, and he has Dad!

_ Dad! _ he says. Dad is still hurting, and wobbling a little as he walks and IG-11 has to help him. But Dad is alive! Dad isn’t Gone!

Greef is happy and Cara is so happy too; she rushes up and hands the bag to IG-11 so that she can help Dad walk instead, telling him “I got you.” He wants to tell her to give him to Dad, but Dad is still hurting. Dad can’t carry him right now. Cara should help Dad, because she’s Dad’s friend and Dad probably doesn’t like a droid helping him.

He glances up. IG-11 isn’t so bad, though. He likes him. But as soon as Dad feels better, he will make IG-11 give him back to Dad.

They walk further and further. Dad is in front with Cara and Greef who help him walk, and he and IG-11 follow behind. Dad tells them that IG-11 healed him, but Dad is still having trouble walking and hurting a lot. Maybe he should help? But Dad always tells him no, and right now he is too far away. He has to be good right now and not complain. He holds on to the necklace instead.

They turn into another tunnel, and then another big one. “Do you know which way to go?” asks Greef.

“No,” says Dad. “I don’t know these tunnels. I’ve only entered from the bazaar.”

Dad comes here? Does Dad live here? This is a strange house. And how come they’ve never been here before if this is Dad’s house? He thought Dad only had the ship to live in.

They keep going, turning another corner. Dad is still hurting and keeps making painful sounds. He wishes IG-11 would just hand him to Dad so he could fix him.

“Well, if we get the smell of sulfur and we follow it, it’ll lead us up to the plains where the river flows,” says Greef.

“And the Imps will catch us before we make it to the ship,” says Dad. “We need the Mandalorians to escort us to safety.”

Mandalorians? There are more people like Dad? Dad has nice friends who are Mandalorians too? But what is a Mandalorian anyway? He knows Dad is one but he doesn’t know what makes Dad one, or why people always know to call him that. He touches the necklace under his coat. Maybe that has something to do with Mandalorians. He can sense it was very special to Dad.

They turn into another tunnel that looks just like all the other ones. “Ugh, this place is a maze!” says Cara.

“Stop,” says Dad suddenly, and they all listen. “I can stand,” says Dad, and Cara and Greef let go of him. He whines. Can’t Dad hold him now?

“The bacta infusion is working,” says IG-11.

“I’ll try to find tracks,” says Dad, looking around with his helmet light. Dad seems better, but he is still hurting and there is still a slight fuzzy feeling when he reaches out to sense Dad. He will stay quiet for now.

“We’re close,” says Dad, and he hurries ahead. Cara and Greef follow him, and IG-11 follows them, still carrying the bag with him in it.

“Turn here,” says Dad, and they go into yet another tunnel. There is a door at the far end, and over the door is a monster-face like the one on his necklace.  _ Look, Dad! _ he says. They must be getting close to Dad’s house!

They walk through the door and finally see something different. There are tables and chairs along the walls here, but they are empty and tipped over. Before he can figure out what happened, Dad suddenly feels so sad, more sad than he has ever felt before. He strains to look out of the bag. Ahead is a pile of metal things. When Dad’s helmet light shines on the pile, he sees lots of armor like Dad wears, and many helmets.

The helmets are different colors and not all exactly the same, but they are like Dad’s. They must be Mandalorian helmets. But the people who wore them are all Gone.

Dad turns off his helmet light and sits in front of the pile. He tries to reach out and sense what happened, and can almost feel an echo of people - like he can sense Dad on the necklace - but no more than that. All he can feel is that Dad is sad. Cara and Greef are sad too, but not like Dad. It is like the sadness fills the whole air around him.

Cara steps up to him. “We should go,” she says quietly.

“You go. Take the ship,” says Dad. “I can’t leave it this way.”

Before he can tell Dad no, they are not leaving him again, there is a flare of anger like hot fire. “Did you know about this?” Dad asks Greef. “Is this the work of your bounty hunters?”

“No,” says Greef. “When you left the system and took the prize, the fighting ended and the hunters just melted away. You know how it is. They’re mercenaries, not zealots.”

“Did you do this? Did you?!” demands Dad, getting up and going right for Greef, and Dad is  _ angry _ and it’s scary and he doesn’t want Dad to hurt Greef -

“It was not his fault,” says a new voice.

Another person walks out to the pile of armor. She looks like Dad but not quite; she has armor like him but a different shape, and her helmet is a beautiful shiny gold with spikes on it. She must be a Mandalorian.

She feels sad too, but she is calm-sad, not angry-sad like Dad. “We revealed ourselves,” says Gold Helmet. “We knew what could happen if we left the covert.” She picks up a piece of armor and puts it in a cart with more pieces. “The Imperials arrived shortly thereafter. This is what resulted.”

“Did any survive?” asks Dad.

“I hope so,” says Gold Helmet, putting more armor in her cart. “Some may have escaped off-world.”

Greef and Cara don’t say anything. Dad feels better now that Gold Helmet is here. “Come with us,” he says.

“No,” says Gold Helmet. “I will not abandon this place until I have salvaged what remains.” She pushes her cart and walks away.

They all stand there for a moment, then Dad walks after her and they all follow. Cara and Greef and IG-11 listen when Dad tells them what to do, and so did Kuiil, but Gold Helmet does not. Dad is still happy to see her, though. She must be a friend.

Gold Helmet is already at work in a new room that is small and hot with a circle of blue fire in the middle. They all watch as she takes an armor-piece and puts it into the blue fire where it melts, using a special tool so she does not get burned. “Show me the one whose safety deemed such destruction,” she says.

IG-11 stops and Dad walks over, but not close enough for him to reach out and try and get Dad to hold him. He doesn’t want to whine now that Gold Helmet is looking at him, though. She isn’t scary, but he feels like he should still do what she says and be good.

“This is the one,” says Dad.

“This is the one that you hunted, then saved?” asks Gold Helmet. Even though he can’t see her eyes, he can tell she is looking right at him. He sits very nicely.

“Yes,” says Dad. “The one that saved me as well.”

“From the mudhorn?” asks Gold Helmet.

“Yes,” says Dad.

He almost adds that he helps Dad lots of times and makes sure Dad has frogs to eat and tries to help him when mean people find him, but when Gold Helmet looks back all his words go away.

“It looks helpless,” says Gold Helmet.

Hey! His words come back.  _ I’m not! _ he says. _ I’m brave, like my Dad! _

“It’s injured, but it is not helpless,” says Dad. “Its species can move objects with its mind.”

He isn’t surprised that Dad thinks that’s strange, because Dad can’t push things without touching them like he can. But Dad is surprised when Gold Helmet says, “I know of such things.”

Gold Helmet keeps talking as she dips a big spoon into the melted armor and scoops some out. “The songs of eons past tell of battles between Mandalore the Great, and an order of sorcerers called Jedi that fought with such powers.”

“It is an enemy?” asks Dad. Dad does not like what Gold Helmet said, and he doesn’t either. He’s not a mean person! And he would never, ever hurt Dad.

“No,” says Gold Helmet. “Its kind were enemies, but this individual is not.”

“What is it?” asks Dad.

Gold Helmet walks over to a big cabinet with her spoon. She is going to call him an asset. Everyone else does. That’s all he ever gets called. But instead, she says, “It is a foundling.”

Foundling? Dad called him that too. What’s a foundling? He doesn’t know, but it feels nice. It doesn’t feel like  _ asset _ when Gold Helmet says it.

“By Creed, it is in your care,” says Gold Helmet.

Now he understands. Gold Helmet wants Dad to take care of him. Gold Helmet wants him to stay with Dad!  _ Dad! _ he says, looking over at Dad, who looks at him.

But Dad is not so sure. “You wish me to train this thing?”

“It is too weak. It would die,” says Gold Helmet.  _ Hey! _ he says, but before he can complain she continues. “You must reunite it with its own kind.”

“Where?” asks Dad.

“This, you must determine,” says Gold Helmet. She is not bothered by his or Dad’s reaction to her words. She just pours her melted metal into a little funny-shaped bowl.

“You expect me to search the galaxy for the home of this creature and deliver it to a race of enemy sorcerers?” asks Dad. Dad does not like this, and he doesn’t either. He’ll go anywhere with Dad, but he doesn’t want Dad to leave him.

Gold Helmet turns, and even if he can’t see her face, he thinks she is smiling. “This is the Way,” she says.

Dad just stares at her. He doesn’t say no; he has to do what she says. Maybe she is his Mom?

Gold Helmet doesn’t say anything more and hits the bowl with her hammer. Cara walks over to Dad. “Hey. These tunnels will be lousy with Imps in a matter of minutes. We should at least discuss an escape plan.”

Greef nods agreement, but it is Gold Helmet who speaks. “If you follow the descending tunnel, it will lead you to the underground river. It flows downstream toward the lava flats.”

Cara nods and so does Greef. They like this plan. “I think we should go,” says Greef.

But when Cara looks at Dad, he says, “I’m staying. I need to help her and I need to heal.”

Wait, where is he going then?! But before he can ask, Gold Helmet says, “You must go. A foundling is in your care.” She picks up her funny bowl with her tool. “By Creed, until it is of age or reunited with its own kind, you are as its father.”

Gold Helmet wants Dad to be his Dad?  _ He’s already my Dad, _ he tells her. But maybe she had to tell him so, since she tells Dad what to do.

Everyone is looking at Dad, but Dad is looking at him. Dad is happy about what Gold Helmet said. Dad wants to be his Dad, and Dad likes being his Dad! He likes it too, and he’s glad that Gold Helmet said it, even if Dad was already his Dad. There have been many other people who watched him and gave him food and took him places, but Dad is the best of them all. All those other people wanted  _ the asset. _ But Dad wants  _ him. _

“This is the way,” says Gold Helmet. She turns to Dad. “You have earned your Signet.”

Gold Helmet brings something shiny out of her funny bowl and attaches it to the armor on Dad’s shoulder with a shower of pretty sparkles. Dad stands very still, but he is very happy. “You are a clan of two,” says Gold Helmet when she is done.

Dad looks down at his shoulder. It is hard to see, but he strains his neck as far as he can and when Dad turns and the light shines on it, and he sees a monster-face like the big scary monster that almost got Dad. What did Gold Helmet call it? A mudhorn? It did have a big horn and live in the mud.

“Thank you,” says Dad to Gold Helmet. “I will wear this with honor.”

_ Thank you, _ he says too. After all, Gold Helmet said  _ You are a clan of two  _ and that Dad is his Dad. He and Dad fought the mudhorn together. This Signet is for both of them. Maybe when he is big, he can have armor like Dad and Gold Helmet will give him a shiny Signet on his shoulder too.

There’s a big boom and everyone jumps. It’s not right next to them but it is close.

“We should go,” says Greef, and he agrees.

“IG, please guard the outer hallway,” says Gold Helmet. “A scouting party draws near.”

IG-11 lifts the bag off of his shoulder and he falls down to the bottom.  _ Hey! I can’t see! _ He can feel the bag be handed to someone else, but when he reaches out he senses Cara, not Dad.

“Hang on,” says Cara. “I don’t do the baby thing.”

_ That’s okay, _ he tells Cara, reaching up for her; if he can grab on to her he can pull himself up and see again. _ Just hand me to Dad. _

He hears Gold Helmet say “I have one more gift for your journey” and he grabs on to the edge of the bag to pull himself up again. He wants to see this gift! Gold Helmet is nice and she gives out nice presents. Maybe she will give him a Signet after all?

“Have you trained in the Rising Phoenix?” Gold Helmet asks Dad.

“When I was a boy, yes,” says Dad.

_ Dad, what’s a Rising Phoenix? _ he asks, but Gold Helmet speaks over him. “Then this will make you complete.” She shows Dad a funny box-that-is-not-a-box. It’s almost like half of a little ship, with two cylinders on the bottom kind of like what Dad’s ship has. What would Dad need that for?

Whatever it is, Dad likes it very much. “Thank you,” he says.

“When you have healed, you will begin your drills,” says Gold Helmet. “Until you know it, it will not listen to your commands.”

_ Dad would be healed already if he let me fix him, _ he grumbles. He whines and points at Dad, but Cara is too busy watching Gold Helmet and the Rising Phoenix.

“I understand,” says Dad.

Suddenly they hear blaster fire and see a flash of red light. Everyone pulls out their blasters and waits, but only IG-11 comes back. “You are protected,” he says.

“More will come. You must go,” says Gold Helmet.

“Come with us,” says Dad.

Dad does not want Gold Helmet to stay here all alone, but she says “My place is here.” She nods over at a nearby table and tells Dad, “Restock your munitions.” She carries the Rising Phoenix over IG-11 and hands it to him while Dad goes to the table, picking things up and putting them on his belt. “IG, carry this for Din Djarin until he is well enough to wear it.”

Din Djarin. That’s what Dad said before. _ You tell them it’s from Din Djarin. _ Dad’s name is Din Djarin? It sounds nice and he likes it. He will still call him Dad, though, because that’s what Dad is and Gold Helmet said so.

“Now, go!” says Gold Helmet. “Down to the river and across the plains.”

Cara and Greef follow IG-11, but the last thing he sees before he falls down into the bag is Dad standing by Gold Helmet. _ Dad, come on! _ he whines as he tries to climb up and see again. He won’t leave Dad, not ever again!

He hears Gold Helmet’s voice and Dad’s voice, though not the words they say. But in a moment Dad is following after, right behind them. Cara still carries him, but at least Dad is close by. As long as Dad is with him, everything will be okay.

Together, the four of them head back into the dark tunnels and leave Gold Helmet behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey wanna hear something fun? While rewatching scenes over and over again to get dialogue and details and stuff, I realized the last Cara saw of Din was him bleeding from a fatal head wound and there is no indication she knew IG-11 had bacta spray on hand (pun intended). Also at this point she doesn't know the Mandalorian covert has been destroyed. So when she says "Promise me you'll bring him" she probably means "Promise me you'll bring _his body"_ so that even though she couldn't save Din, she could at least bring him home to his people, so he could be interred according to his own people's traditions. 🙃
> 
> If I don't continue to get such high quality Din & Cara content in Season 2 I will riot. I also hope the Armorer returns!
> 
> Next time: a lava river, a funny-looking droid, and IG-11 doesn't listen to what Din tells him to do.  
> Updates are gonna continue to be irregular. Thanks for your understanding and for all your kind words on the last chapter. It truly means a lot.


	4. The Sacrifice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> IG-11 wants to keep them all safe from the stormtroopers.

Somehow, they have not gone through all the tunnels yet. There are still more. Cara makes him hide in the bag with the top on again, even though he whines. He can’t see these tunnels but he can sniff their funny smell, and feel them going down and down and the tunnel getting hotter and hotter until finally Greef says, “This is the lava river.”

He peeks out of the bag. It’s very hot and he can hear bubbly sounds, and when he looks he sees some lines of bright orange amid all the dark grey and black. The orange looks like fire but also gooey like when Dad mushes up ration bars sometimes. This is lava? It’s strange, and so hot. He almost wants to wiggle out of his coat and he really wishes Cara would let him out of the bag.

He stays, though. He can hear Dad and Greef talking about a boat and a stream. He still has to be quiet and good. He doesn’t want to, but he knows there could still be White Armors nearby, so instead he takes out the necklace again. It’s dark in the bag, but a tiny little bit of light still comes in from where the top is the tiniest bit open, and it makes the monster-face gleam silver. It’s so pretty.

Suddenly the bag is squeezed and he tenses, but no one hits him. “You guys mind getting out of the way?” asks Cara, and suddenly there is loud blaster fire and bright light. He knows it must be Cara, but he still hides his special necklace and squeezes his eyes shut until it stops.

“Good job,” says Greef, and he feels them move again.

“Watch your feet. It’s molten lava,” says IG-11.

“No kidding,” mutters Cara, and he nods in agreement. He doesn’t know what lava is, but it’s enough like fire to know he shouldn’t touch it.

There’s a sudden beeping sound, then he hears everyone pulling out their blasters, but no one fires. Instead he just hears droid beeps.

“I don’t suppose anyone here speaks droid?” says Dad.

_ Don’t be silly, Dad. IG-11 does, _ he tells Dad.

“I believe he is asking where we would like to go,” says IG-11.

“Downriver, to the lava flat,” Greef tells the droid.

He hears more beeps, and then they start to move faster.

Cara finally takes the top off the bag and he can see. Dad is right there, his armor all dusty and dirty and not shiny, but he is standing up by himself at least. Cara still holds the bag, even when he whines and tries to tell her he wants Dad. IG-11 is there, still carrying the Rising Phoenix, and Greef is with them too. They are all on a big sleigh like Kuiil had back on his planet - no, it’s a boat! He’s heard of those before; Winta had a toy one she liked to put on the ponds. They are not on water now, though, but the orange-and-black hot lava. A big tall funny-looking droid is in the back, using a stick to push them along.

Everyone on the boat except the funny-looking droid is quiet, so he stays quiet too. The droid chirrups and beeps, but no one talks back to it. Strange little creatures crawl on the edge of the lava, but otherwise there is no movement but the bright orange streaks in the black. He is so, so hot, but the quiet in the air is too heavy, and he doesn’t even whine. He wishes Dad would hold him, but Dad doesn’t, so he just holds on to the necklace under his coat instead.

Finally there is a white light at the end of the tunnel. “That’s it! We’re free!” says Greef.

But Dad says no. “Stormtroopers. They’re flanking the mouth of the tunnel.”

Stormtroopers? He reaches out for Dad, to try and sense what’s wrong, and sees a glimpse of White Armors. Stormtroopers are the White Armors!

“Stop the boat,” says Cara. The boat keeps going. “Hey! Droid! I said stop the boat!” says Cara again.

The droid doesn’t listen, and now Cara is mad. “Hey! I’m talking to you!” she says, stomping back to the funny droid. “I said stop!”

She pulls out her blaster and he barely ducks back into the bag before there is a shot and a shower of gold sparks and the droid’s head falls off. The funny droid is Gone, even though he didn’t hurt them.

_ Cara, that was mean! _ he whines, and Cara bounces the bag and feels a little bad, but still mostly worried and angry. He doesn’t feel much better. What if the Stormtroopers do that to Dad and all their friends and take him away again?!

“We’re still moving!” says Greef. He looks ahead and sees Greef is right. The boat is still heading for the light.

“Looks like we fight,” says Cara.

“There are too many,” says Dad.

Cara doesn’t like that. “Then what do you suggest? ’Cause I can’t surrender!”

IG-11 finally speaks up. “They will not be satisfied with anything less than the child. This is unacceptable.”

Him? All those stormtroopers want him? He hides in the bag. He doesn’t want them to take him away from Dad and back to White Hair and Glasses!

“I will eliminate the enemy and you will escape,” says IG-11.

He thinks this is a good idea; he knows IG-11 is very good at shooting stormtroopers. But Dad doesn’t agree. “You don’t have that kind of firepower, pal. You wouldn’t even get to daylight.”

“That is not my objective,” says IG-11.

Dad doesn’t like that at all, but he doesn’t understand. Didn’t Dad see IG-11 shoot all the stormtroopers? IG-11 shot a lot of them very fast before they could shoot him, and he can snap their arms and smash them too. Why can’t IG-11 just make all those stormtroopers ahead go away?

“We’re getting close,” says Cara, and she walks ahead and hands him to IG-11. “Saddle up.”

Cara walks up to the front of the boat by Dad, throwing away the black cloth on her arm and showing her stripes again before picking up her big gun. What’s the problem? Is Dad not feeling good enough to fight yet? Dad is still hurting; he can sense it. But even if Dad can’t fight, they still have IG-11 and Cara and Greef. Isn’t that enough?

“I still have the security protocols from my manufacturer,” says IG-11. “If my designs are compromised, I must self-destruct.”

“What’re you talking about?” asks Dad.

“I am not permitted to be captured,” says IG-11. “I must be destroyed.”

Destroyed? IG-11 can’t be destroyed! They need him to help fight all the stormtroopers! There aren’t too many… right?

“Are we gonna keep talking or get out of here?!” demands Greef.

IG-11 holds out the Rising Phoenix to Dad. “I can no longer carry this for you.” Dad doesn’t take it, so IG-11 sets it down in the boat instead. “Nor can I watch over the child,” says IG-11, and  _ finally _ he is handed to Dad.

“Wait,” says Dad, taking him and holding him, but even though he’s back with Dad he doesn’t feel any better. Instead he is starting to get a bad feeling again. “You can’t self-destruct,” Dad tells IG-11. “Your base command is to watch the child. That supersedes your manufacturer’s protocol, right?”

IG-11 doesn’t answer. What is Dad talking about? Why would IG-11 self-destruct? He needs to fight the stormtroopers!

“Right?” asks Dad again.

“This is correct,” says IG-11 slowly.

“Good. Now grab a blaster and help us shoot our way out,” orders Dad. He likes this. Dad is right. IG-11 is good at shooting and they will need his help to shoot all the stormtroopers. The others listen when Dad tells them what to do, so IG-11 will too, and he will not self-destruct.

But IG-11 doesn’t get his blaster. “Victory through combat is impossible. We will be captured. The child will be lost,” IG-11 says. “Sadly, there is no scenario where the child is saved, in which I survive.”

What? He’s the child. The stormtroopers want him; he knows that. They want to hurt him. But what’s that mean, that IG-11 won’t survive if he is safe from the scary stormtroopers? He doesn’t understand! He whines. _ No, IG-11! You have to shoot them! Or smash them again! You have to stay with us! _

Dad agrees with him; he doesn’t like what IG-11 is saying either. “Listen, you’re not going anywhere. We need you. Let’s just come up with a -”

IG-11 simply says, “Please tell me the child will be safe in your care.”

Dad just stares. He has too many feelings to understand again.

“If you do so, I can default to my secondary command,” says IG-11.

Dad is silent for a moment, then says, “But you’ll be destroyed.”

“And you will live. And I will have served my purpose,” returns IG-11.

_ No, IG-11, _ he says. His eyes feel all wet. It’s not fair! Dad kept him safe and Dad was hurt very bad and almost Gone. Kuiil tried to take him away to be safe and now Kuiil is Gone. He doesn’t want IG-11 to be Gone because of him too.

“No,” says Dad. “We need you.”

“There is nothing to be sad about,” says IG-11. “I have never been alive.”

Of course he’s sad! IG-11 is his friend. He doesn’t want to lose his friend…

“I’m not sad,” says Dad, even though he can sense that Dad  _ is _ sad.

Dad’s words don’t fool IG-11 either. “Yes, you are. I’m a nurse droid. I’ve analyzed your voice.”

_ IG-11, IG-11, don’t go, _ he begs. _ Don’t go away! I don’t want you to go away! _

But IG-11 only reaches out and strokes his ear, a nice gentle touch. _ Dad, tell IG-11 to stay! _ he says desperately. But Dad doesn’t say anything.

Even when IG-11 starts to climb out of the boat, Dad still doesn’t say anything, even though Greef yells “What are you doing?!” when IG-11 steps into the lava.

The lava burns bright and hot around IG-11’s legs but IG-11 keeps walking, and the metal starts to get hot and sparks fly. He’s not supposed to be in the lava! Doesn’t it hurt? He can’t sense if it does but the lava is so hot it has to.  _ Come back, IG-11! _ he cries, but IG-11 doesn’t listen.

Dad holds him close as the boat slowly follows IG-11 closer and closer to the end of the tunnel. IG-11 gets farther and farther away, walking through the black-and-orange lava. His legs start to bend and spark and it is harder for him to walk. _ Come back, _ he wants to tell IG-11,  _ come back and get on the boat, _ but the words feel all stuck in his throat.

He looks ahead and he sees the stormtroopers. They are standing by the lava, getting out their guns and pointing them all at IG-11. He wants IG-11 to shoot them all and then get back on the boat!

But IG-11 only keeps walking, even though he tips and almost falls over, until he is far ahead and standing in the middle of all the stormtroopers. “Manufacturer’s protocol dictates I cannot be captured,” says IG-11. He can hear a funny beeping sound.

“I must be destroyed,” says IG-11, and then he explodes.

It’s bright orange and yellow and black like the lava but he doesn’t close his eyes. He won’t! What if IG-11 still comes out? What if he needs them to pull him back in the boat? He can sense all the stormtroopers being Gone now but he can’t sense droids. Droids are not people but maybe sometimes droids can be sturdier than people? Dad was in a big explosion and he was hurt but then he was okay. He wants IG-11 to be okay too!

But the explosion clears, and there is nothing left but black rocks and dead stormtroopers and smoke. IG-11 is Gone.

He blinks. It feels like water should be coming out of his eyes. But there is none left there anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RIP IG-11 and also The Swole Astromech, as I like to call it.
> 
> We're almost to the end, just two more chapters to go! Whew this has been a huge project, but also a huge amount of fun. Thanks for sticking with me, and for all your kind words. I've really enjoyed writing this and giving Baby Yoda his own voice, so I'm glad you have enjoyed it too!  
> Hopefully I can do regular updates for the but no promises with all the craziness in the world. Thanks again for your patience.
> 
> Next time: Dad versus the Bad Man!


	5. The Flight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He finds out what the Rising Phoenix does, but will it be enough against the Bad Man?

Slowly, the boat sails out into the light. The sharp smell of the smoke and the hot rocks and lava burns in his nose. He doesn’t like it. And worse, then Dad puts him down!

_ Dad! _ he cries. He doesn’t want to be put down! IG-11 told Dad to watch him. If Dad puts him down and IG-11 is Gone, who is going to watch him now? He doesn’t want to be alone. These stormtroopers are Gone but there are always more, no matter how many are killed. What if they grab him again? What if they take him away and there is no one left to come get him?!

Dad pulls out his blaster, like Greef and Cara who already have theirs out. He is in the bag in the bottom of the boat and can’t see what they’re pointing at. Does Dad want him to hide now? But Dad didn’t tell him to hide. He calls for Dad again. If only he could get out of this stupid bag!

Suddenly there is a horrible whining sound and he ducks down. More stormtroopers on those speederbikes again?! But it’s much louder than the speederbikes were, and much more scary-sounding. Everyone else looks up, so he does too, and sees a strange black ship with two flat wings on its side. It isn’t broken and twisted like in his dream, and he can’t see who is inside, but he  _ knows. _ The Bad Man found them!

“Moff Gideon!” shouts Cara as the ship swoops down, getting closer and closer and coming right at them. Everyone raises their blasters.

_ Dad! _ he whines. The ship must have blasters; ships always do. The Bad Man shot his Dad and made him fly up in the air and then land and not move and be hurt very bad. He can still see it in his mind. The Bad Man is going to try to hurt his Dad again! What if he shoots Dad for real this time like Kuiil? What if Dad is Gone?! _ Dad! _ he cries.

The ship swoops down and fires. He cries as huge explosions blast the rocks, making chunks of rock and dead stormtrooper fly in the air just like Dad did. Dad, Cara, and Greef all fire their blasters at the Bad Man’s ship, but even Cara’s big blaster does nothing to it. Next to the ship’s blasters, their blaster shots are like nothing. He can’t hear them over the sound of the explosions. He can’t even hear himself cry.

The ship flies away. Cara and Dad and Greef keep shooting at it, but the ship is too fast. It disappears behind a black hill.

“He missed!” says Greef.

“He won’t next time,” says Dad.

“Our blasters are useless against him,” says Cara. He agrees. He wishes IG-11 was here to shoot the Bad Man too, but the thought makes him sad. Would it even make a difference anyway? The Bad Man’s blasters are too fast and too strong, even for IG-11.

“Hey, let’s make the baby do the magic hand thing,” says Greef. He looks over to see Greef turning to him, waving a hand in the air with only three fingers up, like his hand. “Come on, baby! Do the magic hand thing!”

Cara is looking at Greef like he’s stupid, but if this will help his Dad and their friends, he’ll do it even if he doesn’t understand how it would help.  _ Okay, Greef, _ he says, and waves back at Greef.

“I’m out of ideas,” says Greef.

“I’m not,” says Dad.

Dad puts his blaster away but before he can ask Dad what he thinks he’s doing, Cara shouts “Here he comes!” and the terrible whining returns. The ship is coming around the black hills. It’s coming back at them!

Dad leans down right next to him.  _ Dad, _ he whines, reaching out. But Dad doesn’t pick him up. Dad picks up the Rising Phoenix.

He can hear the ship getting closer but he can only stare at Dad. Dad puts the strange box-like Rising Phoenix on his back, moving his cloak out of the way. He can hear the whining of the Bad Man’s ship getting closer and closer, and Cara’s big blaster as she starts shooting. But all of those noises are forgotten when Dad presses a button on his gauntlet and the Rising Phoenix comes to life.

Fire shoots out of those two funny cylinders on the bottom. Dad stands in the boat, waiting as the ship gets closer and closer. It’s so close to the ground it almost looks like it will crash into them.  _ Dad! _ he cries. The ship blasters start firing. They’re going to get blown up!

But just as the ship is about to shoot them, Dad flies up into the air!

He stares up as the ship stops shooting and rockets right under Dad. Dad doesn’t fall down. He’s flying in the air just like a ship. That’s what the Rising Phoenix does! It makes Dad fly!

“That crazy son of a Hutt,” says Greef with his mouth hanging open.

_ “That’s _ laserbrain’s plan?” says Cara. “Fight Gideon’s TIE fighter with a jetpack? Wait, did he just use his  _ grappling hook?” _

He looks up. Dad did make his rope come out of his hands and he caught the ship!  _ Go, Dad, go! Get him! _ he shouts. He wishes Dad had taken him up in the air with him, or better yet that Gold Helmet had given him a Rising Phoenix too. He could push the ship very hard and make it crash. He tries, but it’s too far away.

Suddenly the bag is snatched up and he falls down.  _ Hey! _ He wants to see Dad! He can hear Greef talking about getting off the boat and safe ground and Cara says that Dad is a nerfherder, but he doesn’t care. He has to see Dad!

He sticks his head out and sees an explosion far away, but when he looks up the ship is still flying and Dad is on it. The ship twists around and around, so much he can’t see where Dad is - until suddenly Dad falls!

_ Dad!  _ he screams. The Rising Phoenix isn’t working. Dad is falling. Dad is going to crash!

The ship explodes. Cara and Greef turn to watch it, so he has to too, since Cara is holding him. “He did it,” says Greef. “I don’t believe it. Mando did it.”

He doesn’t care about the ship. He claws his way up the bag as far as he can and sees that Dad is still falling.  _ Dad, Dad! _ he cries, but just as Dad is about to crash, the Rising Phoenix works again and the fire comes out.  _ Dad! _ he shouts, but now Dad isn’t falling. He lands slowly on the ground, and he stumbles, but he doesn’t fall down and not move like he did before.

Dad walks over to them and they walk over to Dad. He sinks back in the bag, feeling better. Dad is okay, and he’s so glad. But he’s sad, too, for IG-11 and Kuiil. And so tired. He feels more tired than he ever has before in his life. Dad feels that tired too; he can sense it.

“That was impressive, Mando!” says Greef as they all finally meet each other. “Very impressive. It looks like your Guild rates have just gone up.”

“Any more stormtroopers?” asks Dad.

“I think we cleaned up the town,” says Cara. “I’m thinking of staying around just to be sure.” He glances up. Cara feels happy about that. He thinks she will be happy here, too. Cara likes blasters and shooting bad guys, after all, and they have those things here.  _ You should stay, _ he tells her. Besides, Greef could probably use new reinforcements, since the ones he had are gone.

Dad is surprised, though. “You’re staying here?”

“Well, why not?” says Greef cheerfully. “Nevarro is a very fine planet.”

He doesn’t listen to the rest because Cara puts him down. Finally he wiggles out of that stupid bag. And he knows just where to go.

Dad’s boots are all dirty and dusty, but they’re the best boots and they belong to the best person. He goes right over, his feet crunching in the black sand. Maybe another time he would want to play in it, but right now there’s nothing in the whole galaxy he wants more than his Dad.

He grabs on to Dad’s boot and Dad looks down right away.  _ Dad, _ he says, gripping the boot, and he knows Dad knows what he wants. Dad knows he wants up!

Dad is about to lean down and pick him up when Greef pats Dad’s shoulder. “But you, my friend, you will be welcome back into the Guild with open arms. So go off, enjoy yourself! And when you’re ready to return, you will have the pick of all quarries.”

_ Be quiet, Greef, _ he grumps. Everyone else has had Dad’s attention. It’s his turn! He reaches up and pleads,  _ Dad! _

At last, Dad picks him up and holds him close. He is warm and safe again in Dad’s arms, right where he’s supposed to be.

“I’m afraid I have more pressing matters at hand,” says Dad. He grabs on to Dad’s hand, and Dad holds his little hand between his fingers. He doesn’t ever want Dad to let go.

Cara reaches out and strokes his ear and it’s so nice.  _ Bye, Cara, _ he says.

“Take care of this little one,” Cara tells Dad.

He looks up to see Dad nod. Of course Dad will take care of him. Dad always does.

There’s another touch on his ear; he looks and this time it’s Greef. “Or maybe, it’ll take care of you,” says Greef.

Well, Dad does get in a lot of trouble. Greef doesn’t have to worry, though. He will always take care of Dad, just like Dad takes care of him.

Dad nods at both of them instead of saying good-bye; he must be out of words again. Dad steps away, and for a moment he wonders if they’re going to walk all the way to the ship, but then the Rising Phoenix roars to life and the ground falls away! They’re flying!

Dad puts him on Dad’s shoulder and he looks down to see Cara and Greef get smaller and smaller.  _ Bye! Bye! _ he calls. He even waves a magic hand the way Greef likes. Before he knows it, they are too far away to really see. Now it’s just him and Dad and the air making his ears flap flap.

He feels the cool metal helmet brush his cheek.  _ Dad, I want a Rising Phoenix too, _ he says. Dad doesn’t answer, but he doesn’t mind. He holds tighter to Dad’s cloak, safe in Dad’s arms as they fly through the air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Din Djarin fistfights a TIE Fighter with a jetpack and that's why he's my hero. I thought our #1 Din Djarin fan and little adrenaline-junkie-in-the-making Baby would take one look at that and think, yes, this is perfectly reasonable, I want to do that too. Someday, ad'ika...
> 
> The Armorer is now on my shitlist though because if she'd just called it a jetpack I wouldn't have had to write the entire scene using the phrase "Rising Phoenix" instead!!
> 
> Just one more chapter to go and then this series is DONE. Sort of. I want to keep doing the interludes. Also, I won't make a decision about continuing this fic for Season 2 until I see it. I hate the 3D Clone Wars, and as soon as Ahsoka and Filoni's other author's pets showed up in Rebels things were all about them with the main characters WHO THE SHOW IS SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT shoved aside, so if that happens in The Mandalorian I ain't writing it. Also now that the show's a hit and a moneymaker....let's just say that after the sequel trilogy, I am very pessimistic about how Disney will handle the show.
> 
> Next time: Returning to the ship, honoring Kuiil, and he makes sure his dad really is okay.


	6. The Clan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The clan of two goes home.

They fly for a long time. The yellow sun shines bright on all the grey and black rocks, and finally it makes something silver gleam ahead. It’s Dad’s ship. They are home now.

Dad lands close by and they walk up to the ship. When they turn the corner, he sees that Kuiil is still there, with his poor blurrg. Both of them are laying down, still and Gone.

Dad walks over slowly to Kuiil and stops, kneeling down. Kuiil’s face looks sad, but Dad smooths down Kuiil’s eyelids and the frown on his face. “Ni ceta, ni ceta,” Dad says softly, sadly. “Ni ceta, Kuiil.”

He doesn’t know what that means, but he feels like he should say it too. But when he looks at Kuiil’s still face, he can’t find anything to say at all.

Gently, Dad puts him down, patting his head when he whines. Dad picks up Kuiil instead. He follows as Dad carries Kuiil a little bit away, setting him down in a place where the black sand dips. Dad picks up a few black rocks nearby and lays them on top of Kuiil.

He doesn’t understand. But he lifts a black rock too, and sets it on Kuiil.

“Jate,” says Dad, in that same soft sad voice.

Together he and Dad put rocks on Kuiil, more and more. Dad takes Kuiil’s hat and they put on still more, until Kuiil is all covered. He tries to lift just one more, and he can’t. He’s too tired, his eyes are too wet, and he just hurts inside too much.

This time, he doesn’t have to call for Dad. Dad scoops him up, carrying him safely in Dad’s arms. “I know,” says Dad. “I know. But we will never forget him.” He sets Kuiil’s hat on top of the biggest rock. “Ni su’cuyi, gar kyr’adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum, Kuiil.”

He doesn’t understand. But a faint breeze brushes his ears and he thinks that maybe Kuiil would like the words, if he could hear.

Dad puts one more rock on top, and then they walk to the ship and this time they go up the ramp. The ship is safe, familiar; he can smell the usual scents of metal and oil and grease as Dad carries him through the ship and up to the cockpit, his boots stomp-stomping on the floor the way they always do. Dad sets him down in his chair before Dad sits in his chair. His crate isn’t there right now, and Kuiil’s silver pod is gone, just like Kuiil is. He didn’t like the pod, but Kuiil did make it for him. Maybe it wasn’t so bad. He did like that it was shiny and silver.

He has something else shiny and silver, though. He takes out Dad’s necklace. It stayed safe under his coat and no one took it. He puts it in his mouth and tastes metal, cool and familiar and comforting. It’s like his ball, but this is even better than his ball, he decides. The ball makes him think of the ship. The necklace makes him think about Dad.

The ship comes to life with its familiar grumble and whine, but Dad pauses in pressing all the buttons to turn around. “What do you got there?”

Dad reaches out, taking the necklace to look at the monster face. He almost grabs it back but stops. It’s not his, it’s Dad’s, after all. He has to give the ball back when Dad needs it to fly the ship. Does Dad want his necklace back now?

It may be Dad’s but he wishes he could keep it. He likes that it’s shiny, that he can sense that Dad touched it, and even the monster face that isn’t so scary. If he had words, he would ask very nicely to keep it. He wants it.

“I didn’t think I’d see this again,” Dad says. He tries to sense what Dad is feeling, but there are too many feelings to understand again. Does Dad want it back? He will give it back if Dad wants, but he really wants to keep it…

Dad stares at the necklace in his hands and he tries not to reach, even though he really wants to. But then Dad passes it back to him. “Why don’t you hang on to that?”

He takes it and tastes it again. He’s never had anything like this before. Yarull never gave him special things. He’s happy Dad gave it to him. He knows it must be special to Dad, so he will take good care of it.

He feels much better with the necklace in his mouth, so he keeps it there as he watches Dad press all the buttons again, and finally grabs on to the joysticks. The ship shudders and rises up into the air. He loves the rumbly grumbly sounds, the feel of the ship shake-shaking just a little as they fly through the air, the way the sky starts out bright and darkens as they go higher and higher until they see the stars. They fly far away from the grey-and-white planet below, and then Dad pulls the lever and the stars turn into the blue of hyperspace.

The chair is so comfortable, and the blue light outside so pretty, and his necklace so cool and metallic in his mouth, that it makes his eyes start to droop closed. He’s so tired. So, so tired. More tired than he’s ever been, maybe. He really wants to go to sleep…

But he opens his eyes back up when he hears a groan. Dad is leaning on the dashboard, his head in his hands, but then Dad moves and grumbles again, clutching at his shoulder this time. Dad is tired like he is, but Dad is hurting too.  _ Dad? _ he asks.

“I know,” says Dad. “I’m tired too. But let’s get you to sleep first.” Dad reaches out for him but stops, grabbing his shoulder; he takes off the armor pieces on his shoulders and sets them aside before picking him up. He tries to reach out for Dad’s shoulder, but Dad shakes his head and puts him on the shoulder he wasn’t holding. “No touching, ad’ika,” murmurs Dad. “That one hurts.”

He can fix hurts. But Dad always says no touching. And Dad said IG-11 fixed him earlier anyway. And he’s tired, so so tired. And Dad’s shoulder is so nice and comfortable, and he feels so warm and safe and happy…

“Shh, shh, ad’ika. Go to sleep,” says Dad. So he does.

-

He opens his eyes and blinks, because it’s dark. He’s all wrapped up in a blanket, and he knows he’s in the bunk now, because he can feel the bumpy parts on his back. Suddenly he remembers, and his hands reach inside his jacket, but the special necklace is still there. He takes it out and tastes it. It is still cool and metallic and comforting.

If it’s dark it’s time to sleep. But he’s been sleeping, and he’s not very sleepy anymore. The dark is kind of like the tunnels, but he doesn’t like that thought. He didn’t like going down the dark tunnels with Greef and Cara and not knowing where Dad was…

That makes him sit up. He wants Dad.

He blinks and waves his hand to open the door. When it lifts up there is only one light on, on the other side of the ship, and he can barely see. He has to wriggle out of his blanket, but he manages to get out and stand up. He squints, trying to make his eyes see. Where’s Dad?

He looks around and sees a dark shape on the floor and the faint glint of armor in the light and hears quiet breathing. He found Dad!

He slides out of the bunk and lands lightly, like he always does. He walks past Dad, lying on the ground on his side. He passes the armor pieces, stacked to the side and shining just a little in the faint yellow light. The helmet is further ahead, shining too. He walks up to it, but it’s strange. The helmet is set on the ground. Which means…

He hurries past the helmet and in the dim light, he can see Dad’s face.

Dad is a human, like Cara and Greef and Winta, and he’s funny-looking that way humans always are. His ears are so tiny and flat against his head, looking so small across from his huge nose. His skin isn’t green, but a light brown color like Kuiil’s. He has those strange lines of hair humans have over his eyes, and even funny little hairs all around his mouth! He has hair on his head, too, dark like Cara’s but not as long as hers. He reaches out to touch it, and it’s soft. He likes it. He likes all of Dad’s face; even though it’s strange and human, it’s still perfect.

His eyes are getting used to the light, and now he can see red on Dad. Little red-black flecks are still by his ear, and red lines criss-cross his nose and cheeks. He touches them, and they smell like blood. He remembers Dad not getting up, even when there was fire, and Dad hurting as they walked and still hurting even when they were on the ship, before he fell asleep. Dad was hurt very, very bad before in the explosion that made him land hard and not move.

Dad always tells him no touching. Dad doesn’t want to be touched when he’s hurt. So he doesn’t touch Dad. He just raises his hand and holds it out, and tells Dad’s hurts to  _ stop. _

The line of red across Dad’s nose closes and disappears. Dad’s shoulder moves, just a little, and he knows that’s better now too. He reaches out, forcing the hurts to  _ stop, _ until his hand lands against the soft skin and prickly hairs on Dad’s cheek. Dad’s head was hurting, and even though he can’t see it be fixed, he  _ knows _ he fixed it. Dad is bright again, like a star to his sense with no name. Dad won’t hurt anymore. Dad is safe.

He flops down, so tired again. His eyes droop close. He should go back to the bunk like he’s supposed to, but it’s so far away. Besides, he wants to stay right here.

He can’t stand so he crawls, wriggling under Dad’s arm and tucking himself under Dad’s chin, pressing his face into Dad’s shirt. He can feel Dad’s breathing, and Dad’s heart beating, and the metal necklace pressing to his skin under his coat. It’s not frogs or the skughole or his box. But it’s the best feeling he’s ever had. Here, he is warm and safe and happy.

Here, with Dad, is where he belongs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the little extra epilogue! I've had it planned out for a while and I really wanted a resolution to all the times Baby has wondered about the helmet/what's under the armor while not breaking any future moments where Din may reveal himself to his son.  
> Also I've seen a lot of people point out (and a lot of fic dealing with) the fact that Din REALLY should not be very okay after fistfighting a TIE fighter. I watched the shot of him first being pulled along while working on this and....ouch. So this is my answer to that - Baby Yoda knows that he can't be told "no" when Dad's asleep, so he decided to heal him as soon as he got the opportunity.
> 
> Mando'a in this chapter:  
> Ni ceta = sorry (lit: I kneel) grovelling apology - rare (Kuiil needed more acknowledgment than he narratively got in Episode 8, imo (he gave up _everything_ for Din and the baby!!) so that's why I chose this version of sorry)  
> Ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum = Daily remembrance of those passed on *I'm still alive, but you are dead. I remember you, so you are eternal.* Followed by repetition of loved ones' names.
> 
> Thank you so, so much for following along! I've loved writing this and I'm so glad you have enjoyed reading it, and even taken the time to leave such kind comments.  
> As I said last chapter I haven't decided if I'll continue for season 2, but I will be continuing the interludes. They will not be on a regular posting schedule, though, just whenever I write one.  
> Meanwhile you can find me over on [my Tumblr](https://ooops-i-arted.tumblr.com/).


End file.
